7 comments:

I read basically this same story (but shorter) decades ago. My mother liked it as a joke, and wanted me to tell it to people when there were friends over or we were elsewhere (I was ~17 yrs old at the time). Unfortunately, she put it as, "Tell the lighthouse joke."

Similar tales have been told for years. We actually figured this one must be authentic because there have been so many that were hoaxes; we started out thinking, "Wow, life imitates art!" Another thought we had while listening was "Hmmm…nowadays there's no shortage of personnel aboard a USN ship who can speak to the Spanish navy in Spanish!"

The video indicates the carrier was being supported by two battleships and other vessels.

Three US battleships were operational and deployed during Gulf War One, and all had been decommissioned before the most recent unpleasantness. Of the three, two deployed thru the Pacific (New Jersey and Missouri) and I can't quickly find the deployment records of the Wisconsin.

I think the joke is more realistic if the American officer is more junior...say an Ensign...yeah, I can totally see an Ensign trying to pull that off, but then I don't think an Ensign would be OOD of a carrier with an escorting battlegroup even on the mid watch. Oh well.